The Last Time
by nowordsdojustice
Summary: A battle that will change the course of history is nearing conclusion, while Sakura heads to the battlefield to assist. Suddenly, a cataclysmic event occurs, causing Sakura to fear for the worst. Confessions are being made, but a little too late.


All she could hear was heavy breathing. She was running as fast as she could.

"Sakura, you need to get over to that battlefield now! They need your support!"

Those words kept ringing in her head.

"I can't fail him. Not now"

As she approached the battlefield she could see the flashes of light that she'd become all too familiar with during this war. They were from the heavy clash she knew was taking place. She had to get there. She couldn't fail him now.

It started as a rumble; a rumble so fierce that she dropped to the floor. Then she saw it. An explosion that was so gargantuan no one could have survived its blast. It seemed to hang in the air for an eternity. An ominous presence, with no sign of remorse, stood like a monolith staring down at her with such intensity that she knew it meant nothing but horror. Soon, the shockwave hit with full force, the wind rushing past her face and burning her skin. She had to close her eyes.

_Clink_

She heard the distinct sound of metal hitting the ground.

"What was that sound?"

The extreme pressure had subsided, finally allowing her to open her eyes.

"No."

In front of her knees lay a black forehead protector. It had unusually long black ties, the Konoha leaf carved into the metal and a blonde hair stuck in the fabric. She picked it up in her right hand, inspecting the item that had seemingly fallen from the sky, and soon it all hit home. Immediately, she felt the welling up beneath her eyes.

"No. He can't be… he can't be. Not him. Not after everything he's done. He's a hero. There's no way he could ever… Not after everything he's given me, never asking for a thing in return. Not before I tell him."

She was up and running again, faster than she ever knew she could. It was as though a wind of desperation had grabbed her legs and was moving them independently of her thoughts. She could only hear two things now: the sound of every step crashing down on the ground, the surface cracking and contorting as she urged on, and that _clink_, running through her head over and over again, never changing in intensity. It was a sound so subtle yet a sound with such weight that it could crush mountains.

She kept running, kept getting closer to where she knew he was. It felt like an eternity was passing as she ran and all she could do was hope that she'd make it in time, the blue eyes appearing in her head gave her all the hope she needed though. When she had finally arrived at the battlefield, all she saw was absolute chaos. The area was completely decimated. Not a single tree stood out from the ground, not a single blade of grass remained attached to the earth. The land was cracked and pitted, filled with scars that seemed to delve to untold depths. Dust had been kicked up miles into the air. Every step was a danger. That didn't stop her though. She kept on pushing through the hazards within this dusty haze. That is until she saw it. A short distance from where she stood was a monstrous crater, the likes of which she had only ever seen once.

"Did… did that one blast do all this? Just what the hell went on here?" she asked herself.

She looked to her left to find two bodies on the ground about a few metres away. Both were moving, but in no rush. The first was an unfamiliar face. Bleach blonde hair, dark skin and a tattoo of ox horns on his left cheek. She'd heard Naruto was moving with someone of the same description.

"That must be Killer Bee, but if he's here where are the other two?" She thought to herself while she quickly inspected the man in front of her. He was completely out of breath, heavily bruised and appeared to be suffering from a concussion.

"Yo, girl" he said.

"You're quite badly injured but you'll be fine. I don't have time to help you now but I'll be back as soon as possible" she replied.

The second figure then caught her attention.

"Please let this be him" she thought. It wasn't, however, she quickly realised who she was staring at.

"Sas… Sasuke-kun?"

"Sakura?" He asked, seemingly bemused by the figure he saw before him.

"Master told me that he'd be here, but I couldn't believe it was true until now" she thought, "how did he manage to turn Sasuke-kun back?" In any case he wasn't her concern at the moment. Both men seemed injured but in no danger. "How could they have survived so close to that blast? Unless they we're protected… but that means… if those two are here… then he must be…"

Her fears now truly began to grab hold of here. Gripping down as tightly as she could on the forehead protector in her right hand, afraid of the answer she would hear, she asked Sasuke, "Where is Naruto?"

A silence dropped on the scene. The colour instantly drained from his face, his stare, now distant, dropped to the floor. His perplexed look turned to that of crushing despair and deep remorse, as though plagued by guilt. In this tension he could not utter a single word to her; he could only point his finger at the giant crater.

A cold shiver ran up her spine at shattering speed. She stood up and turned towards the crater in a single motion, tears escaping her cheeks as she did and without a sound raced off desperately towards the threshold of the crater. Passed the threshold and down the side, racing towards him. Not caring for the risk of falling. Every step became longer and heavier, as though she was being forcefully pulled back. All she could do was keep running; she had to get to him before it was too late.

As she reached the bottom of the crater's wall the dust had cleared enough for her to see a fair distance. In that distance she saw two figures, darting towards them as soon as she made the connection. As she got closer she saw the stillness she had come to dread. It was not the level of stillness a life could promote; only something far more sinister could do that. Neither of the bodies moved at all, as though paralysed by time itself.

Finally she could make out the figures. The closest to her was the tattered body of an exceedingly old man, clearly of ill health. His body, more like a carcass now, was in ruin. He was clearly the victim of that blast or least one of them. Then she saw his face, a sharingan in his right eye and a rinnegan in his left. This confirmed what she already knew about the battle that had taken place.

"Madara."

She focused her attention on the other body that was only a little further away. That's when her tears turned to rain. That distinct yellow whirl of hair was motionless. Her heart cracked in that moment. She arrived at Naruto's side, finding him in a worse condition than she'd ever seen him. His blue eyes were wide open staring into the sky, his chin covered in blood he'd clearly spat up, his body covered in wounds. He noticed her with tears flowing down her face and turned his head towards her.

"Sakura-chan?... I wasn't expecting to see you again. I'm super lucky."

She dropped the forehead protector as she placed her hands on him, trying to assess the damage, trying to heal him, trying to do anything she could to save him. She caught his blue eyes; the eyes that were always so full of hope, never giving up, no matter what.

"Naruto… I couldn't just leave you to your own devices. Look at the mess you've made of yourself!" she said with tears flowing, trying to cover her sobs with smile, failing abysmally.

"This is too much. He has so many broken bones. Those that aren't broken are fractured and he's experiencing multiple organ failure. He must be in absolute agony, how can he be smiling? I can't do anything for him," she thought, choking up; her tears only intensifying as she realised the fate that Naruto had resigned himself to.

"Why are you crying Sakura-chan? It's all over. This war can finally end. We can finally have peace. There won't be any more hatred and this cursed cycle of revenge will stop."

In all the excruciating agony he must have been in he said it with his widest smile.

"Naruto, how could you sacrifice yourself like this, you fool? You were supposed to be the one to stand up and lead this world through that change. You're the child of prophecy dammit." she said with more tears then she'd ever felt.

"Sakura, Ero-Sennin entrusted me with finding the answer to true peace. I couldn't let my master down. To bring peace… to protect this world… to protect Konoha… to protect my friends… to protect you… it had to be done. I think I managed to find that answer" he said still smiling as though nothing was wrong. "But hey, I finally managed to fulfil my promise to you. I brought Sasuke back. He needs a bit of bandaging, but now you can be happy."

With those words she realised just how much he loved her. All the memories of Naruto trying to impress her, trying to make her smile and protecting her hit like a tidal wave. She remembered when Orochimaru attacked them during the chuunin exam and how he protected her. She remembered the day he saved her from the very Sasuke he swore to bring back. She remembered the fateful promise he made to her at the Gates of Konoha. "He only cared that I was happy, never caring if it was him that made me happy" she concluded, "He didn't care if he was alone. He knew the pain of solitude but was willing to make that sacrifice for me."

With that more tears came. Everything in her head was a mess. There was no order in her head but just looking at him it all returned. With all this weighing down on her she realised just how much she loved him.

"I told you I don't care about that promise anymore Naruto, I love you. Nothing of what I felt for Sasuke could compare to what I feel for you now. I realise now that I was in love with the idea of Sasuke, the coolness, not the person. When I look at you there's not a doubt in my mind now of where I want to be. You were always pushing and improving, all to make me happy. You were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for a fool like me, who never realised what she had standing right next to her. Your warmth, kind nature and love are what I have fallen in love with. Nothing can replace that." she said it with blood shot eyes and tears pouring out as though she was tapping into a massive reservoir. Her hands fell to his chest.

"Sakura-chan. I'm sorry it has to be this way. At least though I can tell you how I feel now. I love you. Everything about you. Your determination, intelligence and beauty. You were always by my side, and always there to heal my wounds when I did something stupid. To me you are a goddess."

She looked over at his face and saw the most amazing smile she'd ever seen. "He's so happy just because he told me how he feels. How could I have been so blind all these years?" With tears still running down her face, she leant over to his face. Looking into his blue eyes, she lowered her head towards his. As her pink hair touched his face and mingled with his, she locked their lips together. Her first kiss, a kiss of true love. She didn't want it to end, but Naruto had something to say. She had to listen to her love's words.

"I'm glad you found that Sakura. I was wondering where it had gone to. I thought it was gone forever."

She looked down and saw clearly what he was referring to. She grabbed his forehead protector and lifted it up.

"I'll put it on for you. I know how much it means to you."

"No… don't."

"Why not? This represents everything you stand for."

"I want to do something else with it."

He raised his hand up slowly, in clear agony but still smiling. He took the forehead protector from hear hands then placed it on her heart, keeping it there with the little strength left in his arm. She placed her hand over his.

"I want you to have this. I want you to always know that I'm close to your heart, protecting you, loving you from wherever I may be."

Placing her other hand on his heart all she could manage to utter was "Naruto…" before her sobs took a hold of her. Then, in a harrowing manner, Naruto coughed up more blood.

"I am sorry that I took so long to tell you Sakura. Maybe if I had things could be different now. But it looks like that can't be case this time. Things are coming to an end now and it looks about time for me to join my mother, my father and Ero-Sennin. I won't be a Jinchuuriki anymore."

"No Naruto, you can't go! Please no. Please don't leave me here. Not after everything that's happened. Not after everything you've said. Not after we finally have each other's love. You don't deserve this. You're the hero of this story, how can you go? You're supposed to become Hokage!" she said, her tears now unstoppable, every word a struggle.

"Hokage, huh? I forgot about that dream of mine. But it looks like only one man in my family could make it reality. I'm sorry, Sakura, I've failed you and my dream. There's nothing more I can do now but hope for the future and hope for your happiness. I'll never give up on you. I love you, Sakura, I… love… you."

With that he slipped out of consciousness. Sakura's eyes widened. She looked over his body watching as the life drained out of him, trying to figure out what to do. She couldn't let her love die. She had to try something, anything.

She kissed him with everything she could, trying to save him, in his last moments. Trying to do whatever she could to bring him back to her. With all her love she desperately clung to that kiss, trying to breathe life into his failing body.

The familiar blue in his eyes faded away to a sickly grey, yet that smile still lay across his face. She dropped her head to his chest, crying uncontrollably; her ear atop his heart. Then she heard it, his last heartbeat.

"NO, NARUTOOO!" she screamed while beating on his chest, "you can't leave me like this. Wake up, dammit! NARUTOOOOO!"


End file.
